Windows XP Secure Data Erase Tool To Wipe Files On Your hard drive

Did you know when you remove or delete a file from your computer it is still there? That it can be easily 'unerased' and restored to fully readable status? Before erasing a file to be really secure you must write 'random' data over that file. In windows xp this can often be accomplished by moving a file with the same name to that folder and overwriting that file there. This is a quick fix, but not as secure as using a program like eraser.

I've tested eraser and it is stable, reliable and easy to use.

Eraser - Free secure data erase tool to wipe files on your hard drive

Eraser is an advanced security tool (for Windows), which allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. Works with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Windows 2003 Server and DOS.
Eraser is Free software and its source code is released under GNU General Public License.

The patterns used for overwriting are based on Peter Gutmann's paper "Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and Solid-State Memory" and they are selected to effectively remove magnetic remnants from the hard drive.